1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of flying wing aircraft and, in particular, to a flying wing aircraft with lift augmentation systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Flying wing type aircraft are old in the art. They are generally characterized as having an integrated central portion (fuselage in conventional aircraft) and wings wherein both produce lift. The aerodynamic efficiency of flying wing aircraft is well established.
Canards are also old in the art, and some designs, such as the Russian TU-144 supersonic transport, have retractable and are only used for takeoff and landing. Also blown flaps, are old in the art. Such systems are known to greatly improve the lift of the wings. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,056,566 Jet Propelled Aircraft by I. M. Davidson and 5,992,792 Aircraft With Jet Flap Propulsion by K Arnason, et al. disclose aircraft with blown canards incorporating a rear mounted blown flap. Such systems are called by various names (e.g. jet flaps, blown flaps, etc.) however they simply exercise circulation control of the surrounding air to achieve lift augmentation.
However, none of the prior art disclose a flying wing type aircraft with a blown retractable canard, without flaps, and blown main wing flaps, wherein the pitch of the aircraft at low speed is controlled by varying the flow of air over the canard.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a flying wing type aircraft with a retractable canard.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide a flying wing type aircraft with a retractable, circulation control canard.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a flying wing type aircraft with a retractable, circulation control wherein the airflow over the canard can be varied to provide pitch control.